Fifteen undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have been hard at work behind the scenes to help Hawaiʻi a major international event—the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Meeting in Honolulu.

Led by Mānoa Department of Economics Chair Denise Konan, special advisor on APEC to University of Hawaiʻi President and APEC Hawaiʻi Host Committee member M.R.C. Greenwood, the student interns have helped in various ways.

Read in UH News: Students work behind the scenes to prepare for APEC

John Nealon

An instructor and his student from the Center for Interpretation and Translation Studies 2011 Summer Intensive Interpreter Training program are serving as escort interpreters for a Spanish-speaking president and first lady during APEC leaders week. Simultaneous and consecutive interpreting instructor John Nealon recommended his student Katherine Porras for the assignment.

Philippine Congressman Walden Bello will discuss Geopolitics in APEC: The Philippines, China and the U.S. Pacific Command in a free public lecture at 5 p.m. Thursday, November 10 in the UH Mānoa Architecture Auditorium.

Bello is a professor of sociology and public administration at the University of the Philippines Diliman and the founder and executive director of the international policy research institute Focus on the Global South.

He will address the implications of China’s assertiveness on the complex geopolitical relationship involving this rising power, the Philippines, a weakened United States and the rest of Asia.

For more information, email Fred Magdalena, UH Mānoa Center for Philippine Studies or call (808) 956-6086.

New York City-based New Tang Dynasty (NTD) television covered the recent APEC Climate Symposium held in Honolulu Oct. 2011, for a broadcast to mainland China.

It features UH Mānoa professor of meteorology Kevin Hamilton (00:36 seconds into the video) speaking about the role of the scientists at the symposium.

The NTDTV report also showcases some of the natural beauty of Hawaiʻi for Chinese audiences.

Organized by the International Pacific Research Center, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Climate Symposium 2011 brought together more than 50 climate scientists from around the Pacific Rim.

From left, Brian Taylor and Kevin Hamilton, UH Mānoa; Chin-Seung Chung, APEC Climate Center; keynote speakers Rosina Bierbaum, Neil Plummer, Jagadish Shukla, In-Sik Kang, Bin Wang

As part of the 2011 APEC activities in Honolulu, the APEC Climate Center holds its annual symposium at the East-West Center’s Keoni Auditorium on the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa campus October 17–20.

The University of Hawaiʻi is the local host along with the International Pacific Research Center, the climate center at Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.

More than 50 climate scientists from around the Pacific Rim, including scientists from IPRC and the UH Mānoa Department of Meteorology, will present current knowledge on such concerns as natural climate swings; climate change to be expected over this century due to global warming; the accuracy of short-term and long-term climate predictions; the impact of climate change on agriculture and water resource management; and climate and energy.

The opening ceremony will begins at 9 a.m. on Monday, October 17, with remarks by Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, APEC Climate Center Director Chin-Seung Chung and IPRC Director Kevin Hamilton.

Rosina Bierbaum, dean of University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment and author of several reports and books on climate change and the mitigation of climate change impacts, will follow with the keynote address.

The public is welcome to attend the first three days of the symposium. See the symposium program for topics and scheduled speakers.

Read about the university’s involvement in the newly announced Pacific Islands Climate Center.

Conference delegates, from left, Zhou Nanzhao, of East China Normal University; Antony Stella,of Australia’s Asia-Pacific Quality Network; and Molly N.N. Lee, UNESCO Bangkok

About a hundred leaders from government agencies, educational institutions and international organizations gathered in Honolulu for a three day Asia Pacific Economics Cooperation conference on higher education quality co-hosted by the University of Hawaiʻi Aug. 4–6.

About 40 delegates presented papers identifying best practices in higher education. Presentations focused on four themes—

• Defining quality and quality assurance and identifying compelling and dominant models
• Examining the controversial issue of rankings and clarifying the role of rankings within quality assurance
• Sharing regional and country examples of what works well (particularly in achieving access and equity), identifying why and exploring how to scale them up
• Creating de facto standards of excellence for creating global universities

Visit the conference website for more information.

Economists Denise Konan and Lee-Jay Cho

The 20th Annual Northeast Asia Economic Forum takes place August 8–9 in Waikīkī. Northeast Asian and North American policymakers, business leaders, academics and members of nongovernmental organizations will discuss trade and economic partnership, energy, cross-border infrastructure and financing as a precursor to the APEC Summit in Honolulu in November.

Read the news release

Key higher education officials, scholars and experts from throughout the Asia-Pacific region will meet in Honolulu Aug. 4–6 to discuss the issue of higher education quality at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference on Quality in Higher Education, organized by the University of Hawaiʻi System in cooperation with the East-West Center.

Economic growth and development in the Asia-Pacific region depend on the quality of education and training available, and higher education is central to building capacity, equity, access, and an ability to adapt to rapid and profound economic change. Defining and identifying quality, and seeking to assure it, are a challenge in higher education.

Eduardo Ochoa

Participants from 20 of the 21 APEC economies will discuss this issue, including how to identify, develop and sustain best practices throughout the APEC region. Eduardo Ochoa, assistant secretary for postsecondary education for the U.S. Department of Education, will be the featured luncheon speaker on Thursday, Aug. 4.

“The issue of quality in higher education is very important and it’s a topic of intense focus right now by higher education institutions and organizations around the globe,” said UH President M.R.C. Greenwood. “It’s important because as we look into the future, our students are going to be operating in a much more global arena, and universities will be providing leadership roles on issues with global implications, such as health, infectious diseases, climate change, disaster preparedness and much more.”

Representatives from universities, government agencies and international associations will present papers on quality and quality assurance, university rankings, case studies and best practices from the APEC region and economies, and the globally competitive university. Speakers on the agenda represent Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, United States and Vietnam.

“The University of Hawaiʻi is already recognized as a national and international leader in many areas of global significance, especially within the Asia-Pacific region, and we’d like to expand our efforts and build more strategic alliances with universities and government agencies,” said Greenwood. “This conference is a step in this direction. We’re honored to serve as organizer for this meeting of our colleagues from the various APEC economies and to set the stage for international discussion and collaboration leading up to APEC Leaders’ Week in Honolulu in November.”

In addition to Ochoa, other high profile speakers from the United States include Ralph Wolff, president and executive director of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges of the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities; and senior project consultants for the conference John Hawkins, emeritus professor of the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, and Deane Neubauer, emeritus professor of political science at UH Mānoa.

The Honolulu discussions are intended to establish an ongoing network for discussion and continued development of best practices and sustainability within national and local higher education environments in the APEC region.

This APEC Higher Education Quality project is an activity of the Education Network of APEC’s Human Resources Development Working Group. The goal of APEC’s education activities is to foster strong and vibrant learning systems across APEC member economies; promote education for all; and strengthen the role of education in promoting social, individual, economic and sustainable development.

Download a factsheet 397KB PDF or an interview with conference advisor Deane Neubauer 266KB PDF, prepared as part of a a project by UH economics students project.

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Professor of Economics Denise Konan discusses the potential impact of the 2011 Asia Pacific Cooperation summit in Honolulu on Hawaiʻi tourism.

Konan, senior advisor to University of Hawaiʻi President MRC Greenwood on APEC, appeared on KITV television.

• Read more or watch the video on the KITV website

In addition to a summer slate of courses focused on advancing the Asia-Pacific region, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Summer Sessions is offering APEC Certificate programs for undergraduate and high school students to provide an advanced understanding of international issues and relationships specific to Asia and the Pacific.

The certificate programs are administered by Outreach College; certificates will be issued by UH Mānoa’s APEC Studies Center.

The programs are Intended for students interested in international relations, geopolitics, political science, economics, business, ethnic studies, the environment and leadership. College courses will be combined with lectures, films and opportunities for interaction with distinguished faculty and experts to furthering students’ educational goals and employment potential.

Summer Sessions is drawing on diverse resources of the university and community to also offer an array of programs focusing on the Asia-Pacific region’s potential for peaceful, inclusive and sustainable growth.

A dynamic summer of lectures, films, performances, noncredit workshops provide venues for learning about issues, discussing a wide variety of viewpoints and achieving greater international understanding.

Program information will be regularly updated on the Summer Sessions website.